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<title>Two Tin Cans and a Toaster (Cave Story/OMORI Crossover) by HerbalBerbal</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29890683">Two Tin Cans and a Toaster (Cave Story/OMORI Crossover)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerbalBerbal/pseuds/HerbalBerbal'>HerbalBerbal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>OMORI (Video Game), 洞窟物語 | Cave Story</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergence, Cave Story Spoilers, Crack Crossover, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, OMORI Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:21:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,718</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29890683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerbalBerbal/pseuds/HerbalBerbal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>*{MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BOTH CAVE STORY AND OMORI}*</p><p>After defeating Ballos and looking for a new place to stay, Quote, Curly, and Balrog settle down near a small town called Faraway. Hijinks and feels ensue.</p><p>---</p><p>This fic is going to assume you already know who these characters are; if you haven't played Cave Story but have played Omori or vice versa, I would recommend looking into these characters' backgrounds and the general story of the games before reading. Thanks!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. As One Ends, Another Begins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is technically my second fic, but it's the first I'm treating seriously. Let's see if I actually finish this or die from burnout, shall we?</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Quote, Curly, and Balrog defeat Ballos and settle down in Faraway.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>   Desperation was the only thing going through Quote’s mind at the moment. The floor beneath him trembled as the floating island he was inside plummeted to the ground. He charged up a blast with his trusty weapon, the Spur, firing it at the ball-shaped menace before him. The beam was a direct hit to the eyes of Ballos.</p><p>    The creator of the Demon Crown roared in anger before eight spiked balls with crimson eyes emerged from the piles of skulls and bones under them, circling Ballos. He charged towards Quote, and the latter leapt out of the way. Ballos seemed certain to crash into the wall and leave himself open, but against all odds, he didn’t. He flew up the wall into the swarm of green devils at the top of the chamber before swiftly moving to the other side of the throne room, dropping seemingly crystalline skulls before his descent.</p><p>    Quote continued blasting shots at Ballos, this time focusing on the eyeballs surrounding him. He kept count of which ones had closed and which ones were still open, desperately shooting at each open eye. Before he knew it, Ballos was reeling back again, charging at Quote once more. He didn’t have as much time to react now, so he had to think on his feet. He dove in between two of the eyeballs circling Ballos, just barely making it through.</p><p>    “Quote, be careful!” Curly shouted at him. Quote had nearly forgotten his friend, who was currently strapped to his back via a tow rope. He nodded slightly before continuing to shoot at the eyes. Just before Ballos charged again, the eighth and final eye closed. Ballos rose to the center of the chamber, four of the eyes opening once again as platforms rose from the bottom of the room, surrounding Ballos. Butes flew in from openings in the walls, slinging arrows at Quote and Curly. Chips of Ballos’ outer shell fell away, revealing red, screaming faces. Spikes began to rise from the ground. Quote panicked and activated the Booster 2.0, flying to one of the platforms and grabbing on, pulling himself up. He stared at Ballos, firing at one of the open eyes. Rather than only closing, it fell away as well, bouncing across the ground with no sense of direction whatsoever. Curly shot at the butes with her weapon, the Nemesis, before noticing the opening in Ballos’ defenses. An idea crept into her head.</p><p>    “Quote!” Quote’s attention was drawn to his blonde friend. He raised an eyebrow. “Throw me into the opening!” He gave Curly a look before shaking his head. “Come on! This is our only chance! You have to trust me!” Quote stared at her for a moment before reluctantly untying Curly, tossing away the tow rope, and throwing her into the opening.</p><p>    Curly grabbed onto the edge of Ballos’ eye, slipping for just a moment before properly stabilizing herself and shoving the Nemesis right into the corrupt sorcerer’s eye, resting her finger on the trigger. She smiled.</p><p>    “Eat this!” Curly pulled the trigger over and over, a continuous flurry of shots hitting Ballos. Quote aimed at Ballos and charged a shot with the Spur. Right before Quote released the blast, Curly leapt off of Ballos. As the laser hit him, he let out one final roar before light erupted from him, blinding the robots and eliminating the butes. When the light faded, the relentless shaking of the room ceased.</p><p>    “It stopped…” Curly glanced around before smiling at Quote. “The island stopped falling! Was the negative power weakened when we beat him?” She thought for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t really get it, but… Whatever, maybe our work here is finally over.”</p><p>    “<b> <em>CAN’T… BREATHE…</em> </b>” A voice reverberated around the room, seemingly with no definitive source.</p><p>    “Wha…?” Curly glanced around, confused.</p><p>    “<b> <em>HOT… I--HOT… SO PAINFUL…</em> </b>” The voice spoke again, louder this time. Quote heard a noise coming from the walls. He placed his hand on the Spur once again… Then the realization hit him. The walls were closing in.</p><p>    “The wall!” Curly shouted, backing up. She ran towards Quote. Both of them were panicking. They had no hope. Nobody was there to save them. They were so close to getting out of this place, and their escape was ripped away from them…</p><p>    “<b> <em>HELP… CAN’T... BREATHE… SO HOT…</em> </b>” The voice got louder. The walls got closer.</p><p>    “We’re going to be crushed!” Curly shouted, barely keeping herself composed. Quote looked around, hoping to find some sort of an exit. Seemingly out of nowhere, a crash was heard from above.</p><p>    “Hey!” Balrog shouted as he dropped down to the two robots. “There you are! Just like Misery said!”</p><p>    “You came here to save us!” Curly beamed. Before Quote and Curly really had time to properly react, Balrog grabbed them and pulled them close.</p><p>    “Hold on tight!” Balrog instructed. Quote and Curly did as he said. He was their only hope, so why would they have any reason not to trust him? “Here we go!” Balrog leapt upwards, just narrowly escaping being crushed. He broke through the ceiling of the chamber once again, bashing through the layers of bones with his head.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>    “How’s your head?” Curly asked.</p><p>    “A little beat up…” Balrog replied. </p><p>Quote and Curly hung onto Balrog as he flew through the air. Quote loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. It was a familiar feeling, but he never truly had a chance to enjoy it before now. He wouldn’t really have it any other way, if he was being honest. To him, this felt like the best way that things could have ended. Toroko and King were gone, but everyone else was still okay, and that was what mattered. He was happy that he didn’t go with Kazuma when the opportunity to escape was offered.</p><p>    “Close! Such a narrow escape.” Balrog said, seemingly trying to fill the silence. </p><p>    “I thought I was scrap metal this time!” Curly half-joked. “Looks like we owe you yet another one.”</p><p>    “There’s no need for that. I just did what Misery asked.” Quote’s expression soured just a bit as Balrog said that.</p><p>    “Misery? As in that witch?” Curly squinted at Balrog.</p><p>    “Yep!” Balrog beamed.</p><p>    “Doesn’t she hate us?” Curly tilted her head. “Wait, don’t YOU hate us?”</p><p>    “You defeated Ballos,” Balrog explained. “Our curse was lifted thanks to you. Misery and I don’t need to take orders from anyone anymore.”</p><p>    “So you were only acting like that because of the Demon Crown?” Curly asked.</p><p>    “We asked for it… You have to remember, Misery was the one that asked Ballos to make the Demon Crown in the first place.” Balrog stated.</p><p>    “Eh? Really? I didn’t know that…” Curly donned a puzzled expression. “I suppose it makes sense…”</p><p>    “Yep!” Balrog assured. Quote stared down at the sea of clouds before them. It had been a long time since he was able to appreciate a view like this… “And now…”</p><p>    “Now?” Curly seemed a bit confused.</p><p>    “What are you gonna do now? I can take you anywhere!” Balrog smiled.</p><p>    “Well, since you asked…” Curly thought for just a moment. “Our mission’s complete, so… I want to live somewhere calm with a nice view.”</p><p>    “Pardon me, but… Um…” Balrog mumbled.</p><p>    “Yes?”</p><p>    “Can I go with you guys?” Balrog asked, seeming a bit more humble than usual. Quote almost interjected to say no, but before he could, Curly replied instead.</p><p>    “Sure!” Curly smiled. “All three of us, we can live together for sure!”</p><p>    “Really?!” Balrog’s eyes lit up.</p><p>    “You can even pick the spot where we all live! But take us someplace nice.” Quote was going to try to say something again, but decided not to. Balrog needed somewhere to stay one way or another, and remaining with them would be the easiest route.</p><p>    “Gotcha!” Balrog began to pick up speed. “Alright! Hang on tight!”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>    “Hmm…” Balrog scanned over the terrain as he flew. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. He sighed, continuing forward. Curly was asleep at this point, and Quote was seemingly lost in thought. Balrog noticed a road leading to a small town. He noticed a clearing in some of the trees, near what seemed to be a playground. He landed in the clearing, looking around. “Hey, Quote. How about here?” Quote was broken out of his trance. He glanced around, hopping off of Balrog’s back. He checked out the area. A clearing surrounded by trees with a lake in the center. He gave Balrog a thumbs up. Balrog smiled and set Curly down, gently shaking her awake.</p><p>    “Huh…?” Curly shook her head, sitting up. She looked around. “Oh! This place is nice!” She smiled at Balrog.</p><p>    “Glad you think so! I’m just surprised I found it before sundown, if I’m being honest.” Balrog laughed. Quote looked around, noticing a small pathway that led to the clearing. He decided not to pay any mind to it, doubting that anyone would come here too frequently. One thing bothered him, though; he could have sworn he heard the shouting of some teenagers in the distance.</p><p>    “So, should we set up camp or something?” Curly asked, playing with her hair.</p><p>    “It wouldn’t really be a bad idea to do so,” Balrog nodded. “If you want, though, we could check out the rest of this place.” Quote noticed a picnic blanket. He pointed at it. Curly stared at it for a moment before putting two and two together.</p><p>    “Ohh, there might already be people that come here, huh?” Quote just nodded in response. “Hmm… I’m sure they won’t mind, right?” Curly chuckled, scratching the back of her head. Quote noticed that the shouts he heard earlier were getting closer. He looked over at the entrance to the clearing, noticing a few teenagers on scooters rolling in. Quote’s eyes widened.</p><p>    “... What the fuck?!” The first teenager to notice the trio’s presence had brown hair and wore a tank top with white wings on the front.</p><p>    “What’s up, Angel?” A boy in a green button-up shirt with a blond wig rolled up next. He glanced around. “Wha… Is this some kind of cosplay meet-up? Was I not invited?!” A tall girl in a black shirt was the next to show up. She didn’t say a word, but she definitely noticed the trio. Next was a seemingly grown man in a plaid overshirt.</p><p>    “The fuck? Didn’t know the freak show was in town today…” He snarked. A girl in a blue sweatshirt followed close behind.</p><p>    “Vance, what the hell are you--” She stopped mid-sentence. “Oh. Ohhhhh.” She turned around. “Aubrey! You might wanna come get a look at this!” She turned back around.</p><p>    Balrog raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting company so soon. Curly took a deep breath and stood. She was just about to say something when a girl with pink hair rode in, taking out a nail bat. Quote started panicking.</p><p>    “Who the fuck are you people?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Pink-Haired Menace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aubrey and the hooligans find Quote, Curly, and Balrog in their hangout spot.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't really have much to say here, but I hope you guys enjoy this! I spent a pretty good amount of time on it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Quote wasn’t quite sure what to do or say at this point. He looked to Curly. She seemed just as lost. The pink-haired girl seemed to grow more impatient by the second.</p><p>    “Well?! Spit it out!” She shouted. For the first time in a long time, Curly was at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to do. Balrog leapt in front of Quote and Curly, startling the teenagers a bit. The pink-haired girl scowled at him.</p><p>    “You see, my name is Balrog! I’m from an island in the sky! These are my friends, Quote and Curly! They’re both robots that were created to fight in a war!” He smiled before realizing he probably shouldn’t have let that last part slip. Oops.</p><p>    Well, on the bright side, it didn’t matter after all; all of the teenagers took it as a joke and started laughing like maniacs. Balrog wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be relieved or upset.</p><p>    “Is this some kind of sick joke? You aren’t being serious, right?” The pink-haired girl chuckled.</p><p>    “If you three are just some weird cosplayers, just tell us. We won’t be mad, we’ll just beat you to smithereens.” The girl in the blue sweatshirt commented.</p><p>    “We aren’t! I don’t even know what a cosplay is!” Balrog shook his head. He seemed desperate. Curly stepped forward.</p><p>    “He was telling the truth. Quote and I are war robots. Well, we were, anyways. Our mission was completed not too long ago, actually.” Curly backed up Balrog, which made him happier than he wanted to admit. Quote simply nodded in agreement.</p><p>    “Prove it!” The boy with the wings on his shirt shouted. Everyone looked at him, and soon enough the others were agreeing.</p><p>    “Yeah, prove it!” The girl in the blue sweatshirt nodded.</p><p>    “Yeah, and pigs can fly; prove it.” The man in the plaid overshirt added. Everyone started chanting the phrase over and over.</p><p>    “Alright, alright!” Curly raised her voice just a little. How was she going to go about this? What, cut off one of her fingers? No way! She had to go about this tactfully… While lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice Quote walking over to the teenagers and knocking on his arm with his fist. It made a loud, metallic <em> thunk </em> that seemingly reverberated through his body. Quote shuddered. There wasn’t laughter anymore. Just sheer, unbridled confusion.</p><p>    The pink-haired girl just stared, perplexed. Robots. They were robots. What the hell were robots doing in Faraway? No way. This wasn’t real. She pinched herself. Nope, still awake. She decided it was time to start asking questions.</p><p>    “What the hell are you doing here? What do you even want?” The pink-haired girl scowled again.</p><p>    “We were hoping to settle down here!” Balrog smiled. Little did he know, he just struck a nerve.</p><p>    “Settle down? In OUR hangout spot? No way, José!” The boy with the wings on his shirt shook his head. “You’re practically beggin’ for a fight!” All of the teenagers nodded in agreement.</p><p>    “No way you’re taking our hangout spot. You’d better leave now, or things might get a little… Well, messy.” The pink-haired girl smiled, readying her nail bat. Quote immediately went to grab the Spur. He didn’t even get close to retrieving it before Curly grabbed his arm. Quote looked back at her.</p><p>    “Quote, no. They’re kids.” Curly shook her head, giving Quote a concerned look. He sighed, stepping away from the teenagers. “Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. We’re not going to take this spot away from you, alright? Even if we could just stay here for a few days, that’d be fine with us, really.” Curly added, giving an awkward smile.</p><p>    “And what do we get out of letting you stay here, huh?” The man in the plaid overshirt questioned. “We’ve got no reason to let you stay.” Curly thought for a moment. He was right, wasn’t he? She looked at Balrog and Quote, unsure of what to do.</p><p>    “Hey, Quote, check your pockets. You’ve gotta have something that’ll convince them to let us stay, right?” Balrog suggested. Quote seemed a bit nervous, considering that he didn’t have much of value besides his various weapons. He checked his pockets, not finding much that he thought would convince the teenagers. He pulled out the only things he thought would be of value without being too harmful; a jar of Jellyfish Juice, a Life Pot, and, reluctantly, the Whimsical Stars he had received from Chaba in the Labyrinth. He held the items out to the teenagers.</p><p>    The pink-haired girl grabbed the stars almost immediately. Quote flinched, clearly not prepared for the sudden movement. The girl examined the stars.</p><p>    “The hell are these?” She pondered, inspecting them closely. She shook them a bit. Nothing. Quote held out his hand, gesturing for her to give them back for a moment. She reluctantly did so.</p><p>    “Stand back,” Quote mumbled, carefully removing the Spur from its holster. The teenagers practically leapt back in unison. The boy with the blond wig tripped and fell, but quickly jumped back up, readjusting his wig. Quote aimed at the sky while charging up a shot.</p><p>    As the Spur reached full charge, the stars came to life one by one, flying around Quote in an erratic manner. Rather than unleashing the blast, he pressed a barely-noticeable button on the weapon’s side, cancelling the shot. The stars all fell to the ground as quickly as they had begun to fly. Quote placed his weapon back into its holster, exercising as much caution as he could. The teenagers looked on, bewildered. The pink-haired girl seemed rather uneasy, to say the least. Rather than just being shown a demonstration of how to use the stars, she had also been clearly shown that these robots were armed. No amount of swinging with that nail bat of hers could trump gunshots. Maybe it was best to let the trio stay here rather than threatening further violence. It was quiet for a few moments before the girl decided to break the silence.</p><p>    “On, uh… On second thought, maybe you can stay here, free of charge. You guys pretty clearly shouldn’t be all too problematic for us if we try to hang out here again…” The pink-haired girl remarked, feigning confidence. The rest of the teenagers frantically nodded in agreement, quietly agreeing with the girl’s sentiment. She took a deep breath, composing herself a little more. “However, I do have just... One condition. After a week, you guys leave... For all of our sakes. Deal?” Quote and Curly looked at each other, then at Balrog.</p><p>    “Yes! We will humbly accept your offer!” Balrog smiled. Quote just gave a thumbs up, putting his stuff away. Saying two words was enough for him today. Curly nodded, grinning.</p><p>    “I knew you guys would come around! Are there any other conditions you have for us?” Curly inquired. The pink-haired girl shook her head almost instantly.</p><p>    “Nah, you’re fine. We’ll go ahead and leave for now, right guys?” There was a tinge of bitterness in the girl’s voice as she spoke through gritted teeth. The others nodded, hopping back on their scooters and leaving one by one. The pink-haired girl stayed behind, ensuring her friends all left safely. Once they had all left, she hopped on her bike, preparing to go as well. Quote and Balrog started setting up a tent using some sticks and the picnic blanket Quote had found.</p><p>    “Hold on. Before you go, I have a question.” Curly piped up. The girl whipped her head around, staring at Curly. The blonde robot shuddered, surprisingly intimidated. “I just thought I’d ask… What’s your name?” The girl scowled in response.</p><p>    “What’s it matter to you? Not like you’re gonna be staying.” She snarked. Curly just frowned. The pink-haired girl eyed her up and down before turning to leave again. She was silent for a moment, unmoving. “It’s Aubrey. My name’s Aubrey.” A faint smile appeared on Curly’s face. Before she could get another word in, though, Aubrey left. Ah, well. She was sure she’d see her again later. Balrog walked to Curly’s side, watching as the girl left.</p><p>    “What a strange girl… I wonder what her deal is.” Balrog closed his eyes, thinking. Curly stared at the pathway.</p><p>    “I don’t know. I think there’s something to be salvaged there, though.” She smiled at Balrog. He nodded in response.</p><p>    “Yeah, maybe... Oh! Could you help us out with setting up our little tent? We tried to do it ourselves, but…” Balrog looked over to their ‘tent’, which wasn’t coming along well at all. Quote was struggling with setting it up, half-covered by the light blue picnic blanket. He was having trouble actually getting it to stay up. Quote was always better at fighting rather than more sophisticated things like this. Curly chuckled and walked over to Quote, helping him set up the makeshift tent.</p><p>    By the time it was done, it wasn’t anything special, really. Just a picnic blanket tied to some sticks that had been stabbed into the ground. The only one who really needed it was Balrog, since he wasn’t a robot or anything like that. Once the tent was set up, there wasn’t much left to do for the day.</p><p>    “So, what now? We’ve still got a bit of time to kill.” Balrog looked to Quote and Curly. Quote put a hand to his chin, thinking about what they could do before ultimately giving a shrug. “Maybe we could check out the town?” Balrog suggested.</p><p>    “Maybe tomorrow. I think we’ve had enough eventfulness for now, right, Quote?” Curly laughed, looking at the red-clad robot. He nodded, agreeing with her fully. “After all, journeying through a floating island, getting rid of the Doctor and Ballos, finding a new place to stay, and almost getting our heads smashed in by an unruly teenager is far more than I was planning on doing today.” She smiled. Quote nodded again.</p><p>    “Fair enough. Maybe we did get a little in over our heads.” Balrog replied. </p><p>    “Well, let’s hope tomorrow is a bit calmer, then!” Curly beamed. Her enthusiasm was infectious; Balrog and Quote found themselves smiling along with her in no time. “Let’s just take this time to rest up, alright?” Quote nodded, finding himself reflecting upon the day.</p><p>    He had finished his mission. There wasn’t anything left to do but enjoy the rest of the time he had here, yet he still found himself on edge. Maybe it was because of that girl. What was her name? Aubrey? He just barely caught her name when Curly asked for it. Something about the way she acted just rubbed him the wrong way, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that she threatened to hurt, or possibly even kill him. He knew exactly why she decided to let them stay here, too. He had a gun and she didn’t, simple as that.</p><p>    Before Quote knew it, the sun was down and his friends were asleep. He watched the stars for a bit before eventually going to sleep as well.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>    Sadly, Curly’s hopes weren’t quite met. She awoke to what seemed to be distant shouting. Something about a knife, apparently. Concerned, she got up and left the makeshift tent, walking down the pathway and unknowingly waking up a sleeping Quote as she did so.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter actually had a different layout originally, but I scrapped the whole thing and started over because the pacing was weird and Aubrey was acting out of character. One way or another, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad! I should have chapter 3 out by the end of the week, so be on the lookout for that! I plan on making it a bit longer than the first two chapters.</p><p>UPDATE 3/31/21: I'm delaying chapter 3 indefinitely.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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